Betrayal
by Pyro Girl2
Summary: Squall kept his promise to Rinoa and still serves as her knight even after evil corrupts her mind. Now Quistis is sent to observe them but she cannot do so without the help of ex-knight Seifer. QuiferSeiftis warning.
1. Bloodshed

Disloyalty

Chapter I "Bloodshed"

......

Three weeks...

Three, short, peaceful weeks came to a waste on the eve of September. Everything fell in pieces soon after everyone was convinced Rinoa had no trace of evil in her. Besides the fact Ultimecia gave her powers it meant none of her evil thoughts would possess the innocent raven-haired girl. 

After the victory over Ultimecia, Adel, and even Edea, there was no longer fear for any power thirsty sorceresses. Or at least that's what most people thought...and hoped. 

After their victorious battle that made them all famous, SeeD's Squall, Selphie, Zell, their former instructor Quisits, Galbadian sharpshooter Irvine, and Rinoa returned to Balamb Garden and settled for a few weeks from their hard work.

Irvine was awarded the rank of SeeD and Rinoa was accepted as a student and was personally trained by Quistis since it was too late to attend classes and be left behind. 

During the second week since their victory, Quistis had noticed strange signs of mood swings from her pupil Rinoa. She hesitated to tell Headmaster Cid of her odd behavior but he simply told her Rinoa was probably stressed from learning the way of SeeD's _and_ becoming more tolerable of her new powers. 

Quistis tried to brush aside her thoughts of the reasons why Rinoa seemed to lose her temper more easily than Zell. After considering what Rinoa had to cope with, she figured she really was under stress and tried to help her out in any way she could. 

There was always a tinge of jealously in Quistis when she saw Rinoa, frankly because she still had feelings for Squall that were more than a sister type. But with extreme difficulty, Quistis convinced herself there was no hope in ever gaining Squall's heart and left it at that. Still she could not break her feelings so quickly but she stopped hoping and praying for one day she would win Squall's heart. 

On the third week while Quistis was awaiting Rinoa for a T-Rexuar lesson in the training center in the Secret Area, she was unexpectingly knocked off her feet from a sudden and quick jerk of the mobile Garden. 

The young blonde SeeD rose to her feet and sprang for the main hall of Garden but was intercepted by twin T-Rexuar's. For any SeeD or student a single T-Rexuar would be greatly complex to battle against but what was a simple ancient animal compared to multiple sorceress'? Though it was not a life threatening battle it still would take time to rid of the monster's. 

Once they were dead and gone, Quistis quickly ran out of the training area and grew shocked at the scene before her. 

Every student, SeeD, and even Garden faculty member were either on the ground injured or were helping other nearby fallen people. Quistis sprinted for Dr. Kadowaki's office, thoroughly confused by everything, and helped the doctor heal as much as they possibly could. 

"Quistis!" A distant voice erupted from the mummured moans of pain from everyone in the main hall. 

The ex-instructor promptly looked up to see who called her but she did not see anyone and presumed to healing a young junior student's arm. 

"Quisty!" The voice shouted again but noticably from the 2nd floor.

Quistis strained to look up and saw Selphie and Zell running to the elevator. She quickly finished healing the little girl's arm before getting up and headed to the elevator. 

Selphie and Zell sprang out of the elevator and nearly ran into their childhood friend. They both paused and leaned forward, trying to catch their breath.

"What's going _on_?" Quistis asked, putting her arms on her hips.

"It--was--" Selphie panted. "--Rinoa--she--went out of---control--"

"WHAT?" Quistis asked, her eyes wide in shock. She had a sickening feeling this was going to happen soon enough.

"Yeah--one minute she's with us--and the next--" Zell exclaimed, punching his fists in the air. "--she's throwing spells every where and ran out. Squall--he--"

"What about Squall?" Quistis asked immediately. 

"He's gone." Selphie said sadly.

"What do you mean he's _gone_?!" Quistis exclaimed. 

"He just went with Rinoa like a lost little puppy dog." Zell grimaced. "He even protected her when we tried to stun her or put her to sleep. He even attacked Irvine."

"Oh no, where is he?" 

"He's ok, he's back with Cid and Edea." Selphie answered. "We volunteered to come down and help everyone. Oh I just can't believe Squall betrayed us!" 

Quistis searched in her mind why he would do such a thing to them. They grew up with each other, despite most of them didn't remember a thing of their childhood. But they also fought and bled together while fighting in the second sorceress war. She could not find a reason why he would betray--

--Rinoa's diary. Yes she remembered now. Once, after tutoring Rinoa one night Quistis stayed behind at the library to catch up on some new released novels when she came across Rinoa's diary. She didn't bother reading it but when she got up hours later to retire to her dorm the book fell and opened to a random page. As Quistis bent down to pick it up, Squall's name caught her eye. 

She grabbed the book and read what Rinoa had to say about Squall. She said Squall promised her he would be her knight no matter what, if she was good or evil he would still be at her side. She thought it was romantic and sweet of Squall to think that way but Quistis thought he was helplessly blinded by love. 

She never mentioned what she read to anyone, not even Selphie, whom she was closest to out of all her friends. 

"Quickly!" Selphie cried, jumping from the full gush of andrenaline in her system. "Headmaster Cid wants you to report to his office immediately. He says he has a new mission for you." 

"Ok." Quistis nodded. Her first guess for her "mission" was to follow Rinoa and Squall to see where their first place to head would be. Her second guess was that the couple would be hiding at Rinoa's father's mansion in Deiling City. 

...

Quistis angrily blew onto her hands for warmth. Three days after the incident at Balamb Garden, she was of course sent to follow Rinoa and Squall to where they would hide and to find out, if possible, of their future plans. 

In Deiling City, the middle of September is just as cold as the middle of December. Yet Quistis could still not find enough warmth despite what she wore, black jeans with a white tank top and a black leather jacket. 

A nearby car honked at the crossing blonde even though she already half way across the street. Obviously whoever was driving was in a real hurry, but luckily he stopped or else he would have pulverized Quistis. 

Apparently Squall and Rinoa had decided to stop by a club, for an unknown reason, and Quistis had to be there. 

Once inside the club, Quistis presented her fake ID and quickly scanned the large area for any sign of the Balamb Garden best couple but they were no where to be seen. 

Selphie, from the telephone, warned Quistis of Squall and Rinoa recognizing her and to come up with a disguise. The young blonde decided to change into a completely different atire to keep anyone from recognizing her and she added extra makeup and left her hair completely down. So far, from what seemed to be impossible, she's gotten even more male attention from within the club. Almost every time she lifted her drink a new guy walked over and sat next to her and asked her to dance. 

From most of the good looking men asking her, she would have easily accepted their offer, but she was still in the middle of a mission and forced herself to remember her objective every time she nearly got lost from looking upon a guys eyes. 

"Why hello there miss." An awful familiar voice rang in Quistis' ears. 

Lowering her empty drink on the table, Quistis looked beside herself at the now occupied stool. 

"Is...something wrong my dear?" The man asked Quistis. 

_No...it can't be._

Quistis at first thought it was the drinks she consumed that were playing tricks on her vision. But after she rubbed her eyes and looked again, the man sitting next to her still looked identical to Seifer Almasy. Good thing he didn't recognize her, her disguise must really be worth it.

"Could I buy you another drink miss?" Seifer asked Quistis. If he knew it was really his ex-instructor, he showed no signs that he knew. 

"Sure...why not?" Quistis smiled sweetly. If she was to be pretending to be another person, she had better do a good job at it. 

Seifer nodded to the bartender that was cleaning a few glasses in front of them and ordered two new drinks and offered one to Quistis. 

"My name is Seifer by the way miss...and what's yours?" The ex-knight grinned as he took a sip from his drink. 

"Oh, my name is--" Quistis stopped dead in her tracks. She obviously couldn't tell him her real name, she would blow her cover. "--Kelia." 

"Hmm..." Seifer smiled. "Nice name." 

"Thank you." Quistis whispered before she took a taste of her drink Seifer bought for her. She suppressed a cough, the liquor was quite strong but good nonetheless. 

Just then a slur of Griever's pendant passed beside Quistis. She quickly turned and caught Rinoa and Squall brushing through the thick crowed on the dance floor. Once through the crowd they turned a sharp left and into the restricted area. 

Quistis couldn't see much from her angle so she excused herself from Seifer and pretended to be heading toward the restroom which was closest to the restricted area.

_Why would they get access to the restriction area? That place is only for the person in charge of this club and their friends. _

Quistis slowed her pace a bit to catch what Rinoa and Squall did once they found a place on a warm leather couch and sat. Squall ordered drinks while he wrapped his arm around Rinoa. At first she snuggled close to him but she seemed to have barely remembered something. She stood before planting a quick kiss on Squall's cheek and walked down the clear stairs and headed for Quistis.

_Oh shit, does she recognize me?_

But no, Rinoa wasn't approaching the blonde SeeD. She didn't even recognize her as she smiled and walked right into the restroom. Quistis heaved a sigh of relief and followed suit into the girls room. 

Inside Quistis headed for an empty stall and tried to collect her thoughts over everything. 

First Squall and Rinoa come to a club for no important reason. And now Seifer shows up when he was last spotted living peacefully as a fisherman in Balamb city. 

_Now, if you are a new evil sorceress, why would you want to come to a club when you can easily be climbing your way into power? _

Quistis' thoughts were interrupted from multiple voices inside the restroom. 

"Lock the door." Rinoa ordered. "And check under the stalls to see if anyone is in here." 

Quickly Quistis stood on the toilet and leaned forward to place her hands on the door and keep it closed. 

"No one's in here, and door is locked." Another female voice reported. 

"Good." Rinoa said again and her voice was drowned out by the water from the faucet. 

"So is it true?" A different female voice asked. "Did you really attack those students at Balamb Garden _and_ have Leonhart wrapped around your finger?"

Quistis swallowed, her mouth suddenly became very dry despite the many glasses of coke, water, and liquor she consumed earlier. 

"Yes." Rinoa chuckled. The faucet was shut off and the hand dryer turned on. "Its amazing how men will follow you around if you give them your heart. I don't even have to put him under a spell to order him around. He's simply _pathetic_."

Quistis straightened and peeked over the top of the stall to see who was in the room.

Rinoa was drying her hands and three girls stood around her. 

"What do you order us to do, angel?" The tallest girl out of all of them asked. 

_Angel? Is that the name Rinoa has given for herself?_

"You three just keep an eye out. No doubt there could be SeeD's in here. I wouldn't be surprised if half this club is full of them." Rinoa said as she played her with her hair in front of the mirror and took out lipstick from her purse and placed some on. "If you see that blue mage, don't kill her. Keep her somewhere and report to me at once. I'll send Squall to her for information on that stone." 

"Yes ma'am." The shortest girl cried. 

Rinoa sensed eyes staring at her and she turned in Quistis' direction. The young SeeD quickly ducked and prayed she wasn't seen.

Her heart thumped loudly and nearly painfully in her chest. She broke into a cold sweat and her hands were starting to shake. 

There was no sound except the sudden compact from foot against stall door directly beside Quistis. 

_They know I'm here._

Quistis stood, still on top of the toilet, and waited for her door to swing open. Soon enough it did, and Quistis quickly jumped forward and kicked the girl right between the eyes. 

"_Intruder_!" The second girl yelled and charged for the blonde SeeD. 

Quistis simply took a step to the side and outstretched her arm out and caught the girl between her chest and neck and sent her flipping onto the ground. The third girl sprinted for the intruder and wrapped her hands around her neck. 

The girl was still within arm reach and Quistis sent a quick jab to her face and sent her reeling back, clutching a bloody nose. 

Quistis grinned as she glanced at all three fallen girls. Junior students could put up a better fight, and she didn't even have to use magic or her whip. 

"So...speak of the devils themselves...you must be a SeeD." Rinoa said bitterly. "Too bad your about to die anyway, you look awfully young."

"Keep your mouth shut Heartily, I'm older than you." Quistis growled. 

She sprinted forward but was caught off guard from a unique spell Rinoa hurled at her. The small blue orb flew out of Rinoa's outstretched palm and slammed right into Quistis' stomach. 

Not only did it knock the breath out of her but it also sent her reeling violently onto the wall and kept her whole body from moving, even blinking was impossible. 

The three fallen girls slowly climbed to their feet and stepped toward the lone mercenary. Two of them had their noses bleeding and possibly broken while the other one looked to have recovered completely. 

"Finish her." Rinoa commanded.

Three knocks slammed on the bathroom door. "_Hey--let us in--what are you doing in there! I'll get the manager!_"

The four girls fun was cut short. The girl free from a bloody nose cursed under her breath and glanced back at Rinoa for her command.

"Take her outside and kill her there." Rinoa replied. She snapped her fingers and headed for the locked door. "Alright, alright, take it easy. I'm opening the door." 

Quistis still couldn't squirm out of the paralyzing spell and could do nothing as the three girls lifted her up and threw her out of the small bathroom window at the very end wall and squeezed in themselves. Quistis landed hard on the ground face first and tried to get up but her body was still hard to move. 

The three girls landed one by one behind her and the first girl, the one who was kicked, picked up Quistis roughly by her shirt and threw her deeper into the empty alley they were in.

...

"_Hurry open the door, we all have to pee so bad!!_" 

"Alright already!" Rinoa yelled, unlocking the door. 

The moment the door clicked open, dozens of girls sprang into the bathroom and nearly fought each other for who got to get in a stall first. 

Rinoa grinned and quickly left the bathroom before she was questioned why she kept the door closed.

Once she escaped the screams and nature sounds from the bathroom, Rinoa walked up the stairs and forced on an innocent smile. She found Squall sitting on the same coach playing with his drink and his foot tapped a little to the beat of the music. 

"Hey, what took you so long?" He asked once he spotted Rinoa climbing the stairs.

"Oh you know, it was a horribly long line in there." Rinoa lied as she sat down and cuddled up next to Squall. 

...

Quistis was knocked violently down onto the wet ground, it had been raining for a few hours now, and another kick was given to her stomach.

"Stupid SeeD's!" The girl who was punched in the face by Quistis yelled. She picked up Quistis' face from grabbing the back of her head and slammed it onto the wet ground. She continued kicking her ribs until another girl stopped her by picking up Quistis.

She lifted her up from her shirt and slammed her back onto the wall and started punching her in the stomach. 

"Hey...look what I found." The girl without the bloody nose grinned, lifting up a brown wooden baseball bat and showed it to the other girls. She gripped it tightly and swung it about. "I can have fun with this."

"We all can." The shortest girl, who was kicked in the face, snorted. "Three swings each, whoever can knock her out first wins. I bet fifty gil I'll knock her out first."

"Your on!"

"Oh bring it on." 

Quistis closed her eyes and awaited for the sudden impacts. It was horrible. The baseball bat was slammed in her stomach, back, her sides, her head, even her face. One of the girls, she couldn't see who due to the rain and blood blinding her eyesight, had hit her head on all three tries she had. And sure enough, that did it to knock the out numbered SeeD. 

Before her senses failed her and darkness engulfed her, she could hear such a familiar voice calling her fake name and she could have sworn she saw Hyperion reflecting the moonlight. 

"I don't normally hit women, but you three don't seem to be anything near girls. Women as cute as yourselves don't beat up other girls." Seifer spat, swinging his Hyperion around to scare the trio. 

"Another SeeD?!" The girl without the bloody nose warned. 

"Don't insult me miss, but I ain't no SeeD." Seifer winked. "Now, who wants to play?" 

All three girls, stupidly without any magic or an equipped weapon, sprinted towards the lone blonde man but were suddenly all knocked to the ground with a sleeping spell. 

Seifer chuckled slightly as he hid his trusty Hyperion and kneeled beside the fall girl. He was going to heal her but she had too many bad wounds that might not heal within time permitted until the girls woke, and perhaps they had more friends on the way. 

His flat was only a few blocks away from the club and if he went now, he could get Quistis back before she bled to death. What scared him most was that she wasn't only bleeding from the wounds but from her mouth as well. He quickly picked her up and ran out of sight.

A/N: How was that? Good? Bad? Well this is my first fic so...don't be too harsh . I'm on the process of learning how to write stories. Please Read and Review!!! Please? 


	2. Recovery

Betrayal

Chapter II 

-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-

Of all days Deiling City's public transportation seized because of heavy rainfall, it had to be now with Seifer running all over the place with a dying woman in his arms. 

His apartment was a block away but what could he do once he took her to his room? That is _if_ he managed to get her into his room. He could just picture himself right now running inside the main hall and startling everyone with a bleeding girl in his arms. No chance would he be able to get her into his room and heal her. The ambulance would be called but the only hospital in Deiling City was at least thirty minutes away, plus the heavy rainfall would cause dozens of car accidents within minutes, making ambulances rare to come by. 

They would be lucky if they had to wait at least an hour for help to pick up the injured girl and take her to the hospital. But by then she might bleed to death. Seifer just couldn't risk losing her at the moment, he's caused way too much deaths and injury in the past and he vowed to himself to help _anyone_ who's life was at stake. 

Taking her to the hospital was out of the question, he had no choice but to sneak her into his apartment and heal her himself. He wasn't great at first aid, but he to try at least. 

Now the question was, how to get her into his room? Going in through the front was impossible if he were to sneak in without being noticed. 

A soft groan escaped the wounded girls blue lips--

_--Blue?_

Only way to get her lips blue would be that her temperature was lowering, must be from the cold rain. Her clothes were soaked with water and blood. 

Finally Seifer thought of a plan to sneak in undetected. He ran up through the fire escape route and squeeze into the window he always leaves open.

_--Oww, damn floor is covered in water._

Seifer quickly, and carefully, jumped up to his feet. His knees were stinging with pain but he ignored them and softly laid Kelia (Quistis) on the bed and quickly dived for the light switch. He peeled off his black jacket and threw it carelessly on the ground and stepped into the small kitchen.

He hadn't been washing dishes lately and he was out of clean bowls. Cursing his laziness, he washed the nearest bowl as fast as the speed of light and filled it with warm water and fetched a clean face cloth from the bathroom. 

Millions of thoughts ran through Seifer's head as he tried to plan what to do first. He sat the cloth and water bowl on the nearby corner table and examined Kelia. He had to find the main wound that was bleeding so much. But her wet clothes clung to her skin and it was hard to find most of the wounds. 

Now any normal breathing male would enjoy the opportunity to take off the clothes from a beautiful woman such as Kelia but under these circumstances his brain, for once, overpowered his hormones. 

Once her clothes were off, excluding her undergarments, he quickly whipped away the blood with the wet facial cloth with extreme gentleness. Most of the wounds were clogged and he didn't want to open them again while cleaning them. And he found which injury was bleeding the most, the excessive gashes all over her right arm and shoulder. 

_What the hell did these girls do to her? Her arm looks like it was put in the blender._

Seifer, being poor in first aid, usually never keeps Cure's in stock. He had a few for emergencies but they were obviously not enough to heal every wound on Kelia's body. The small ones could be healed and leave no trace of a scar while the larger ones were better off being wrapped up. 

And after two long and stressing hours, Seifer was finally wrapping up Kelia's right arm with some bandages he snuck out from the first aid storeroom in the main office downstairs. 

_Finally...done._

He sighed heavily and collapsed on a nearby chair. His first plans were to get into the shower, eat something, and sleep. But with Kelia on his bed, he would have to sleep on the floor. 

_Well...at least you saved her life...remember that. And she'll have to repay you somehow._

Seifer was beyond exhausted, treating people wasn't as easy as it looks. So he stood, grabbed some clean clothes, and headed for the bathroom. 

After a nice refreshing and warm shower, Seifer emerged completely fresh and relaxed. He was so tempted to just grab extra blankets and pillow and crash on the floor there and then. Except one thing kept him from moving...His apartment was a mess. 

First impressions were important, and Seifer did not want Kelia waking up in the middle of filth. Surely she have her first negative impression of Seifer, and he did not that. Now that he finally moved into a new city, got a new job, he finally meets a young lady he found extremely attractive, plus he saved her life. 

So Seifer excluded his thoughts of sleeping and started cleaning the many empty coke cans on the floor, the crumb filled pizza box in front of the small TV, and several clothes that covered the carpet. Once everything was picked up and placed in two large black bags, Seifer set to work in the kitchen where a mountain of dishes eagerly awaited to be washed. 

Kitchen spotless, apartment actually looking like the way it looked once Seifer had moved in, and the trash thrown away outside. Finally the ex-knight could get his well deserved rest. 

He threw down a pillow and several blankets on the floor and laid on top of them. First it wasn't as comfortable but he was too tired to care. All that mattered to him right now was sleep.

But suddenly the thought of his plans tomorrow swiftly removed all sleepiness from his eyes. He bolted right up and glanced at the clock, which showed fifteen past midnight, and cursed under his breath. 

He had work first thing in the morning and would be gone all day. He couldn't leave Kelia alone without being watched over. What if she woke up while he was gone? Would she stay? Or would she just leave and never see him again? Or what if her condition got worse? 

Seifer swore again and slammed his fist on the gray carpet. There was no way he could miss work tomorrow, he needed every penny he could muster and he wasn't on good terms with his boss. Apparently he remembered Seifer perfectly well as Edea's knight during that parade. Plus this was the only available job in the whole city, if he lost his job at the Car Rental who knows how long it would be until he could find a new job. He was already on tight terms barely paying for the roof over his head, the apartment was as cheap and run down as possible, and he had just enough to buy food. 

He did have some gil saved up but that was for a motorcycle. He needed wheels badly, he was tired of public transportation and being stuck in small seats between old people or smelly homeless people. 

But what was he to do. He needed someone to stay here and watch over Kelia while he was at work. Perhaps...he could hire a nurse or doctor to stay and watch over her while he's at work. A part of him knew it would take just about majority of his savings to hire a private nurse or doctor for one day, but another part of him knew it was the only way. Perhaps Kelia would offer to pay him back, and if she was low on gil then...yeah she might pay him back in a different payment.

Seifer smirked at that thought and quickly got up and grabbed the phone. He called the main office and asked if he could be given any numbers of doctors or nurses that would make house calls. He was in luck, and was given a few.

__

Well the way a male brain works, when a beautiful young women is asleep in their room, was kicking in again and the trademark smirk appeared on Seifer's features. He took one last moment to look at the girl before him and stood up and headed for the bathroom.

...

Seifer emerged from the bathroom freshly washed and relaxed. He hung up his towel and quickly dressed, he was afraid Kelia would awaken and see him butt naked...though he wasn't embarrassed to show off his equipment to women but still it would be embarrassing to be caught naked even if it was from a girl. 

Finally dressed into a pair of sport pants and a muscle shirt, Seifer walked hungrily into the kitchen and pulled out left over pizza from the fridge. Once it was warmed up he inhaled the pizza and looked around his apartment. It was a royal mess, he didn't want Kelia waking up in the middle of this filth. 

Sleep would have to be put on hold. Seifer sighed while he turned on the water and began washing dishes. After the kitchen was cleaned he ran around the place picking up empty coke cans, pizza boxes, and clothes that were lying around. He didn't have a vacuum, plus they were probably loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood and he wasn't on everyone's good side as it was. Everyone that set eyes on him were overpowered by fright from women and hate from men. Apparently everyone remembered him as the sorceress' henchman. 

Once Seifer was done, the only thought that remained in his mind was what to do with Kelia while he was at work. He had no friends, Fuujin and Raijin remained in Balamb, and his only alternative was to hire someone to watch over her. 

Sighing, Seifer rubbed his bloodshot eyes and looked inside the telephone book that was kept forgotten in a drawer on the far side corner beside the entrance door. The ex-SeeD cadet grabbed the telephone book and searched desperately inside for any caretakers for hire. 

With shocking luck, Seifer found a small ad in the yellow pages about a retired doctor who offered home calls. This was the closest the blonde could find so he picked up the phone receiver and dialed. 

After five rings, there was a soft click and a shallow sigh could be heard. 

"_H-hello?_" 

"Is this Mr--" Seifer checked the ad for the name, "--Kaden? Or...doctor Kaden?"

"_Yes...who is this?_"

"My name is Seifer Almasy, I'm calling for information about your ad in the phone book. It mentions you offer home calls."

"_Yes that is correct._" 

"Sir...do you...I mean...do you watch over the sick or injured person for a period of time?" Seifer whispered. His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he awaited the answer.

There was a sudden cough and a grunt before the man replied. "_You mean like baby-sitting? Yes, I do that. But I charge by the hour._"

Seifer swallowed the large lump in his throat and opened his mouth, "How much?"

"_Two hundred gil._"

"Two hundred?!" Seifer exclaimed. A whispered groan in the back made him realize not to be too loud. "...Alright. I have an injured friend in my apartment, she was beaten up by some girls when I came by and stopped them from killing her. I live way on the south-west area of Deiling and the nearest hospital was at least thirty minutes away. I have no car and public transportation was just too slow, she was bleeding a lot so I rushed her to my apartment. I've bandaged her up but she's unconscious and she hasn't awaken...and I have work tomorrow morning and I _cannot_ miss it."

"_Alright, sounds like a job to me. Give me your address and time you wish for me to be there._"

"20932 Cariates Road, Deiling Apartments, floor seven, room number 9F at six in the morning." 

"_Great, I'll be there sir. Thank you and good night._" 

Another click and silence told Seifer he had hung up. 

Perfect...he hired some old retired doctor to look after Kelia. He would be gone eight hours and Dr. Kaden is charging him 200 gil an hour! That would equal to 1600 gil. Certainly that was nearly half of his savings. Too late now to debate over this. He ran his hand through his short blonde hair and hissed in frustration. Sighing, he settled on the floor and pulled the blankets over his shoulders and slept. 

-==-==-==-

The next morning didn't go well for Seifer at all. He overslept and was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on his door, Dr. Kaden. 

Seifer dressed as he explained the story about Kelia to the doctor, apparently he was half asleep and didn't really catch what Seifer was telling him. 

Dr. Kaden was several inches shorter than Seifer with brown and gray hair, a slight mustache growing, and had a black suit on. He held a large and plumb leather bag that held medical supplies in case he needed some and gave Seifer a few papers to sign. They were simply confirmation papers of their deal and the yellow copy was for Seifer and the pink for Dr Kaden. 

With one last glance at Kelia and a nod to the doctor Seifer left the apartment and wet for work. Somehow he felt it was going to be an extremely long day.

-==-==-==-

"Ok sweetheart, let's see how you're doing." Dr Kaden whispered to no one in particular. 

He pulled a chair and set it beside the bed where the sleeping blonde laid and sat while he placed his bag on his lap and searched inside for some supplies. He pulled out a small pocket flashlight, turned it on, and leaned forward and used his free hand to lift Quistis' eyelids and he flashed the flashlight to see the reaction to her pupils. 

Both eyes appeared normal so he set the flashlight back in his bag. 

"Now let's just move this out of the way." He said again as he pushed the blanket on Quistis aside to examine her physique. 

She was still in her undergarments and her arms and legs were bandaged but her torso was in perfect condition except for numerous bruises. 

He checked for any broken bones and used scan to see if anything was fractured. Next, he pulled out fresh and clean bandages from his bag and took off the bloody ones Quistis had. With new bandages the doctor got up to fetch a large bowl of water, soap, and a sponge and used them to clean off the blood and dirt on her body and face. 

After that he got up, around noon, and searched in the drawers and closet for some extra clothes. He found one large shirt and put it on the sleeping patient. His stomach grumbled, signaling he should grab a bite to eat, but he couldn't leave the place. The girl had yet to awaken and if she did she might suffer from shock after a brutal attack and waking in a place she's never been in. 

The retired doctor sighed and stepped into the kitchen to see what was in the fridge. There was nothing but left over fast food. In the cabinets there was some bread and cereal. He checked in the fridge again and found some sandwich meat, cheese, and lettuce. Kaden helped himself to four sandwiches and made two more just in case Quistis awakened before Seifer came back from work. 

Once lunch was done, Kaden sat himself in front of the TV and watched several shows until he would hear a groan or cough from the sleeping blonde. 

Near five in the afternoon, Kaden heard another groan from Quistis. He turned off the TV, stood and went to the girl's bedside to see what was wrong. 

He called her but she showed no signs that she could hear him. Then he noticed how much she was sweating. Placing his hand on top of her forehead, his eyes widened from the touch of such heat. 

He grabbed a small facial cloth, wet it, put a large ice cube in the center of it before folding it neatly, and placed it over Quistis' head. The moment the cloth touched her head, her eyes opened slightly.

"Wha--" 

She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She wasn't in her hotel room, she wasn't in her dorm back at Balamb Garden, and she wasn't in a clinic room. Thinking the worse, she sat up and prayed to Hyne she was being held captive from Rinoa or Squall. 

"Shh, rest sweety." Said a deep masculine voice from beside her. 

She turned and came face to face with a blur sight of an old man with a small smile. 

"Finally you've awakened. How do you feel?" 

A strong wave of dizziness consumed her and she was forced to lie back down on the bed. 

"Wh--where am I?" She asked hoarsely while brining up a hand to her forehead. Not only was she dizzy but she had a terrible headache. 

"In Mr. Almasy's apartment. Isn't he a friend of yours?" Asked the old man. 

Quistis groaned and shut her eyes tight. Almasy...did he mean Seifer? "Y-yes. We met awhile ago. But...why would he bring me here?"

"I do not know that my darling." Smiled the old man. "He said u were bleeding too much and it would have been too late to get you into a hospital. So he brought you to his home and tended your wounds. Apparently he had work this morning but he didn't want to leave you alone uncared for. So he hired me." 

Quistis groaned again, the rest of her body was beginning to get its senses back, including her nervous system. 

Just then a door opened and the familiar ex-knight walked in the apartment looking exhausted and extremely angry. 

"Why hello there Mr. Almasy. Your friend Kelia has finally awakened." Dr Kaden smiled warmly. He stood and gathered his bag and supplies. "How was your day?"

Seifer's lip curled and he winced slightly. He glared at Kaden but then his face softened as he watched Kelia in bed. She didn't raise her head off the pillow but her eyes blinked as she stared at the ceiling. 

"...I was fired." Seifer whispered. 

A/N: Kind of a long chapter, my next one will be shorter. 


End file.
